FAQs: Registering New Users

Multiple user registration is used when a user is registering himself or herself and other family members, or a whole family may be at the circulation desk to be registered. You can use the same process for group affiliations other than families.

To register multiple patrons

In the Users group, click the New User Registration wizard.

In the User ID box, scan the user’s ID.

Enter a user’s full name as well as other user information, such as a group ID and associated library. Use the tabs to modify additional information.

Click the Copy User helper.

In the New ID list, click AUTO for WorkFlows to automatically generate the new patron ID.

Type specific information for this patron such as name and birth date.

Click Clone/Copy to New User to copy existing user information to create a new user record.

Continue the clone/copy process until all family members have been registered.

The Copy User helper must be selected in the New User Registration wizard properties. Using the Clone/Copy to New User option ensures consistency among patrons in the same family or of a similar type.

How do I set properties so that an auto-generated user ID is produced?

To automatically generate user IDs when using the New User Registration wizard, you must make the wizard’s Auto-generate User ID property available.

To set the Auto-generate User ID property

In the Users group, right-click the New User Registration wizard, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.

Click the Behavior tab.

Select the Auto-generated User ID check box, and then click OK.

Continue the registration process using the New User Registration wizard.

How do I specify which address is the user’s primary address?

You can enter address information on the Addresses Tab of the user record. You can enter up to three addresses for the user into the user record.

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To specify which address is the primary address, select the appropriate option in the Primary field: Address 1, Address 2, or Address 3.

You should designate both a postal address and an email address in the Addresses tab as the primary address. This allows you to send email notices to patrons who want them, and to generate postal address information for collection agencies with the Debt Collection reports if desired.

Can I check for duplicate user records before I register a new user?

Yes. You must select the Duplication Checking check box in the New User Registration wizard properties. When this check box is selected, the wizard checks for possible duplicate user records as you register a new user. After selecting the check box, you can select the user record fields you want to search for duplicates (up to eight search options for a single user search). The corresponding user record fields are searched to see if the current user being registered could be a duplicate of an existing user record.

How do I check for duplicate user records before I register a new user?

If the Duplication Checking On property is selected, you can check for duplicate user records using the New User Registration wizard.

To check for duplicate user records before registering a new user

After entering user registration information, click Check Duplicate User.

If duplicates are found, a list of users appears in the hit list. If you want to view the full user record for each match to determine if it is a duplicate record, click the Display User helper.

After viewing each record, click Close to close the Display User window.

Do one of the following.

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If a record is a duplicate, click Cancel to return to the User Registration window. You can register another user or close the wizard.

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If there are no duplicate records in the system, click Register User.

If the duplication checking property is selected, but no data was provided in the corresponding user record fields, a message appears. For example, if you are checking for duplicates based on street address and SSN, but these fields were not included when duplication was checked, a message appears requesting confirmation that you want to register the new user. Click OK to close the message and return to the User Registration window.

Can I register a duplicate user anyway, if I wish?

Yes. When you attempt to register a duplicate user record, and if duplicates are found, a list of users appears in the hit list. You may choose to proceed with registering the duplicate user.

To register a duplicate user record anyway

If duplicates are found, a list of users appears in the hit list. If you want to view the full user record for each match to determine if it is a duplicate record, click the Display User helper.

After viewing each record, click Close to close the Display User window.

Click Cancel to return to the User Registration window.

Click Register User to create the duplicate user record anyway.

How do I enter name suffixes, like Jr., when creating a new user record?

Type the name suffix in the Suffix field.

The following rules and examples summarize how suffixes should be typed in the Suffix field.

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Suffixes without a period will appear in a sorted list before suffixes with a period. A period may or may not be used, according to local practice. However, the use of the period must be consistent for lists to sort and display properly.

Example of Sorting Suffixes When the Period is Used Inconsistently

Adams Jr, Carl T.Adams Jr, Thomas T.Adams Jr., John Q.Adams Jr., Steven P.

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When a number is used in a suffix, such as John Q. Adams IV, include the suffix before the comma.

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Numbers sort before letters.

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Roman numerals sort as letters.

Example of Sorting Surnames with Numeric and Alphabetic Suffixes

Adams 3rd, John Q.Adams II, John Q.Adams Jr, John Q.Adams Sr, John Q.Adams V, John Q.

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Surnames with a suffix interfile alphabetically with surnames that do not have a suffix For example, all of the Adams Jr. users are sorted with the Adams, J users.

Example of Sorting Surnames With and Without Suffixes

Adams, Albert J.Adams, JaneAdams Jr, BobbyAdams Jr, James B.Adams, Kathy L.

It may be tempting to avoid this interfiling by entering suffixes with given names, such as “Adams, James B. Jr.” However, doing this will cause the user’s name to be transposed incorrectly in notices.

Example of Including Suffixes in Given Names Instead of Surnames

User’s name in the user record: Adams, James B. Jr.
User’s name in a notice: James B. Jr. Adams

What happens to the privilege fee bill if I cancel registering a new user?

If you click Cancel before completing the new user registration, the New User Registration wizard will cancel the bill automatically and remove the partial user record.

Why don’t address fields display in the order specified in the New User Registration wizard?

If you create a new user record and at least one entry is defined to have default text, the entries are not created internally in Symphony in the order they are specified in the template entry list. The specified order of the synonym list is maintained for some print jobs (such as notices and report lists), but when the record is viewed for editing in the Modify User wizard, the entries appear to display in the wrong order.

If an entry is marked as “required,” the default text REQUIRED FIELD is inserted, thus defining the entry as having default text.

Can users register online?

Users can register themselves online with the SirsiDynix Symphony Online User Registration program. The Online User Registration program can be configured to use a number of different checks to prevent duplicate or fraudulent registrations.

To register online, a new library user enters registration information in the e-Library. The registration information is sent to the Online User Registration program, which validates the information and checks for duplicate users. If the user’s information validates and no duplicate users exist, the user is registered. Online User Registration receives confirmation from SirsiDynix Symphony and passes that information to the e-Library. The e-Library then displays a message telling the user whether the registration is successful. An optional feature allows the library to require the user to activate the registration to gain full library privileges.

The Online User Registration validation may be configured to check the following information when a user submits a registration.

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Fake names

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ZIP codes

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Geographic area

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Social Security Numbers

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E-mail Addresses

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Age

These checks can be controlled by settings in the Online User Registration program configuration file.

If the user information does not pass validation, the “Data validation errors” message displays in the e-Library, and the user’s registration is rejected. If the information is successfully validated, the Online User Registration then verifies that the user is not already registered in the library system. The duplicate user verification may be configured to check for existing user records by the following information.

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Name

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Nickname

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Address

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Social Security Number

If an existing user record is found, the “User already exists” message displays in the e-Library, and the user’s registration is rejected. If the duplicate user check verifies that the user has not already registered, the user’s registration is accepted and the “User created” message displays in the e-Library. Online User Registration can be configured to send a welcome message by electronic mail when the user’s registration is successful.

If users are required to activate their new accounts to get their full library privileges, the Online User Registration program can be set up to immediately send a message by electronic mail when users complete the account activation.

How is the patron database updated with Online User Registration?

The NEW_USER_ID setting determines how Online User Registration assigns the new user’s ID. Field 2 has two possible values. Use AUTO if you want Symphony to autogenerate an ID for the user. Otherwise, enter the name of the text file in the /Unicorn/Oureg directory that contains a list of IDs you want Symphony to assign. As each ID in the file is used, it is removed.

For example, if NEW_USER_ID|userids.txt| is set, the program assigns a user ID from the /Unicorn/Oureg/userids.txt file. No sample file is provided; you will need to create this file if you want to use custom IDs.

The new user ID file lists the IDs to be assigned to new users. Each ID must be on a separate line. Each ID should be unique and unused. The Online User Registration program removes the first entry in this file and assigns it to the new user. Check this file periodically. As the entries in this file are used, you will need to add new user IDs.

For example:

111122220000

111122220001

111122220002

111122220003

111122220004

When a user registers online, the library might choose to issue an auto assigned ID online and then replace it with a library card ID if the user appears at a library desk.

How are new user registrations from Online User Registration validated?

Without purchasing additional software, the library can accept or reject registrations based on validating addresses. A VALID_AREA check performs geographic area validation. This lets you limit registrations to a particular state, city/state, or ZIP code. Sites fill out configuration files containing the allowed state, city/state, and/or ZIP code information.

Sites may also choose to purchase and install the ZP4 DVD-ROM from Semaphore Corporation (http://semaphorecorp.com). When this is installed on a Windows server, sites can install the SirsiDynix ZP4 Server software on the same Windows server. Then the Symphony Online User Registration server can be configured to use ZP4 address validation. The library is responsible for purchasing the ZP4 DVD-ROM from Semaphore Corporation, as well as installing and maintaining the 3rd party software.